Q: XTC's 1986 album Skylarking was your most gruelling production job, right?

TR: I would say probably true. But that's the price of admission. You never know what's going to happen. I try not to dwell too long on the horrible things Andy [Partridge] said to me. I try and focus on the final product and how that saved the band from destruction.

Q: Were there fisticuffs?

TR: Well, there was the moment Andy said he wanted to cleave my head in half with an axe. But there was never anything physical. Just verbal abuse.

And more specifically in terms of the podcast you cite and Partridge's response, and points from the latter re TR being a great arranger but a poor engineer and very difficult to work with as a producer, with claims others all agree: